Recipe: Naomi's Birthday Soup - #1

Serves 4.

This soup was invented for a kids’ cooking class. Naomi promptly nabbed it for her birthday party supper, and gave it a name. You can substitute any winter squash for the pumpkin in this recipe: you can also use canned or frozen pumpkin or squash, about 3 cups . Cow’s cream or soy cream are both fine.

Wash the pumpkin and cut it in half. Scoop out the seeds and stringy parts. Line a cookie sheet with tinfoil and put the pumpkin cut side down on the foil. Bake in the oven for about 1 hour at 375°, until the pumpkin is soft. Let cool.

Scrape the cold pumpkin out of the pumpkin skin. Mash it with a potato masher or put it through a food mill so it’s smooth.

Peel and mince the shallots. Heat butter in a large heavy saucepan and cook the shallots over very low heat until they’re soft. Add the broth and turn up the heat to medium. Heat until it just starts to simmer. Add the salt, white pepper, nutmeg and maple syrup and stir. Add the pumpkin a little bit at a time, stirring. When everything is mixed together and heated through, turn off the heat and stir in the cream.